


Make this House a Home

by IcyStarlight



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Found Family, Gen, you will pry this headcanon from my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-01 13:41:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17868317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyStarlight/pseuds/IcyStarlight
Summary: For some it's easy to notice, for others it takes time, but they all notice it sooner or later.How the seven members of Idolish7 came realize their new family.





	Make this House a Home

**Author's Note:**

> AN: This was supposed to be for the third anniversary, u kno the thing that happened half a year ago, then school started, and well here we are… Also i finished this instead of doing any of my three lab reports all due within a week
> 
> Also ik part 4 just dropped so y'all may be worried abt spoilers but there aren't any here unless you're worried about spoilers for the anime in which case how did u even get here? 
> 
> Hope u enjoy my rambling character study

1.  
The change comes slowly, but it didn’t start that way. Iori would like to say he saw it coming but he has a third sense for the whole dynamic and inner workings of their group. It wasn’t so much of a surprise to him. If he was to keep Idolish7 safe he had to know things about the others even if they would rather not talk about it. He didn’t dig too deep though, that would go against the trust the others placed in him and he would never go against that trust. The point being that when Mezzo” returns home from work late as the rest of them are waiting for his brother to finish dinner, he doesn’t think it’s odd Tamaki and Sogo are arguing. 

They don’t argue often, not like they used to. That time seems like a far away past and not as recent as it really is. What he doesn’t expect is their argument to continue growing in volume instead of tapering off. He stops writing to look up at them from his spot at the table Tamaki is very defensive about something Sogo keeps pushing off. Tamaki was not one to get defensive over nothing which meant they were arguing about one thing out of a few select topics. Maybe something stress related, he knows Tamaki has never told Sogo about what it was like to hear he had passed out on the floor because of stress. None of them had ever told Sogo about it either, about how Tamaki nearly fought the paramedics to see Sogo before they rushed him to the hospital. That day was one of the reasons he strove to know all he could to protect them. He didn’t know what was sadder that day, Tamaki’s sobs or Riku’s sad smile when the paramedic commented on how their center really knew how to handle an emergency well. 

But that’s in the past. Their current argument isn’t about that it at all, it’s made very clearly when he’s startled out of his thoughts by Tamaki shouting something that makes Sogo flinch. He hadn’t been paying enough attention to catch all of it, but he did manage to string together the general idea. Something had happened with Sogo’s family and Tamaki was angry about it. He was going to intervene but Yamato and Mitsuki beat him to it. He doesn’t know what Yamato and his brother tell Sogo and Tamaki respectively but that’s all he gets out of the whole situation. 

It doesn’t take a lot to piece it together though. With Sogo’s general attitude towards his family, his story of being disowned when he decided to pursue music. Sogo does not get along with his family and as a result Sogo doesn’t contact them as far as he’s aware. But to Tamaki family means everything. To Tamaki, family is what he’s missed out on his whole life between his deadbeat father, his mom’s death, and being separated from his younger sister. He doesn’t doubt there have been many nights in Tamaki’s past where he wondered what it would’ve been like to grow up in a normal family situation. He doesn’t need to wonder if Tamaki ever thought about what it would’ve been like to grow up together with Aya. He knows Tamaki has from all the questions he’s offhandedly asked Iori about what it was like growing up with his brother. 

Sogo does not get along with his family and he may never speak to them again. Tamaki’s lost his family and he’ll never get to have what he probably dreamed of as a child. They all know about Riku’s family situation. He’s surprised no one has managed to piece it together to be honest. Riku couldn’t be any less subtle about his twin and despite how hard he may try, Kujou Tenn was the same way if you paid attention. Sure Riku had his parents but as far as he knew their center never really went to visit them. He doubts Riku thinks of his parents house as anything like home since Tenn left. 

Yamato and Nagi are left unsaid mysteries. Neither of them give clues nor mention anything at all about their families as far as he knows. Nagi makes a comment about an elder brother once and that’s the most they know about his family situation beyond him being from another country and being half Japanese from his mother. Yamato deflects any questions about his family but he knows Yamato well enough to have pieced together the whole revenge thing to not ever mentioning anything about his family. 

That leaves him and his brother as the only ones with a real family. With a place that feels like home. A place that feels safe to not have to be anyone but your true self. That doesn’t sit right with him. He doesn’t like it at all. 

 

When his mom mentions having a family dinner he asks what her and his father would think of coming to visit them in the dorms. It’s logical and he has many points to back it up. He knows his brother would love to show off all the new recipes he’s mastered and that his mother shouldn’t have to cook for them every single time they are together. He never says that everyone else in Idolish7 might be there or that he wants them there. But his mother doesn’t ask. She merely says that it would be a wonderful idea and to just let her know of the best date and what desert would be best to bring.

If anyone thinks its weird they don’t say anything. The others are very polite to his parents and dinner is nice and calm in the presence of their guests, unlike normal. Neither of his parents were surprised to see the rest of Idolish7 there and didn’t comment on them joining dinner. The calm doesn’t last though, before anyone can really even truly start eating once plates are full of food and drinks are settled Nagi asks about what him and his brother were like when they were younger. His mother turns and pulls a photo album out of her purse. It’s a new album, a larger one than the few she usually kept. She had planned on this happening. He should’ve known. But after dinner when Nagi and Riku pour over the photo album with his mother and his father has a conversation with his brother, Sogo, and Yamato at the other end while he and Tamaki clear the dishes that he realizes he can’t really be upset that she planned to bring their baby pictures. After all he was the one who invited his parents here to join both sides of his family together.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.  
For Yamato, the change has been happening all along. It starts with the ruse of cutting four of them in auditions. Then learning it had just been a ruse and they were meant to be seven. Then it’s being told he’s the leader because he’s the oldest. How was he supposed to lead this group? They all had their hearts in it and he, he was just in it for the revenge. 

It really hits him the night when Ichi and Mitsu’s parents come over for dinner. After the elder Izumis have left and most of them have gone to bed he sits on the couch blankly staring at the tv without really processing it because when had this happened? 

Maybe it was when Ichi failed to sing at MusFes and none of them hesitated in running out to find him. To tell him that it was okay, it wasn’t his fault, that it would all work out. How even months later Ichi still hadn’t let it go and Yamato made a mental note not to forget to remind Ichi how much their group needed him every once in a while. He was the captain of their destiny, if anyone could guide them to the stars it would be Ichi.

Maybe it was when Mitsu would practice in the backyard and not care Yamato would come out and watch him. How half the time everyone else came out after, but especially that one day Mitsu had just told him that he is the only one who can make sure he’s happy. That last shove that pushes him in deep. So deep he picks up acting for this group that were mere strangers not long ago. Mitsu picks them up time and time again, reminding them of their strengths. Yamato never forgets to remind Mitsu of the strength he give all of them.

Maybe it was when Tama’s sobs were the only thing he could hear in aside from the ambulance in the pouring rain. When Tama who clearly stated from the beginning he just wanted to be on tv and that’s why he was here, told them it was to find his sister but he didn’t want to do it if it wasn’t the seven of them. When Tama punched his father on Mr. Shimooka’s show in a way that reminded them all the carefree boy didn’t always get to be that way. Tama who’s somehow gathered enough king pudding plushies that they’re everywhere in the dorm. They all have one in their room, there’s one on the couch next to him, sure some of them are just small keychains but he’s wormed his way everywhere. 

Maybe it was when Sou told them about his father, the president of the FSC, while he looked just as pale as the hospital sheets he was on. Sou who goes out of his way to make sure everyone is doing well and is okay without ever remembering to make sure he is also okay in the process. When he realized they get to stand where they are today because Sou took charge and got Mezzo” popular enough so the rest of them could stand on stage with the two. 

Maybe it was when Nagi put them back together after MusFes. When he did it time and time again the oncoming storm became too hard to handle. He’d shield them from the storm with that too beautiful face of his and say it was going to be okay. Nagi who never left any room to doubt him when he said he’d shield them from the storms time and time again and always put them back together. Who trusted them enough to sing the songs Haruki gifted to him. Even if Nagi had more secrets tucked away than Yamato did none of them cared because he was also everyone’s treasured and precious friend.

Maybe it was when Riku told them about how Kujou Tenn used to be Nanase Tenn. When he passed out after the concert in the rain and thought he was the burden because of something beyond his control. The way he never hesitated to stand on stage in front no matter what. Even when he couldn’t anymore he would try and fight them every step of the way until they forced him to sit down. The way Riku knew more about how a hospital and emergency room worked than the rest of them combined. All those times in the beginning when Kujou Tenn would show up and it was a group effort to get their center to focus on anything but his twin. The way they all knew how to work his inhaler for him, the way they all knew how to calm him out of an attack, the way they all knew he liked warm milk with honey before going to bed otherwise he couldn’t sleep. Maybe they were a bit overprotective of Riku but it was justified. Their center shone like the sun no matter how hard it rained.

Maybe it was always happening. Slowly but surely this group had grown closer and closer until they were family. Maybe it finally took an offhand comment from someone’s actually family to clue him in on it. Mitsu’s dad had said with all seriousness that he’s glad his sons have a family away from home. Maybe it’s because not all of them know what it’s like to not have to fight by yourself for only yourself. 

But fighting for them, fighting for them is as natural as breathing to him.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3\.   
Mitsuki doesn’t say anything about it when he notices. The others will figure it out on their own time. He doesn’t have an exact date for when all the pieces finally fell together but one day he just noticed it. It had been a day maybe a month ago, when the others were all out working late and he didn’t think twice about still making enough dinner for everyone and keeping theirs covered so it would still be somewhat warm when they got home. 

It was easy to say welcome home every time someone came home. Even easier to tell someone you were leaving because more often than not someone would tell you to be safe, or have a good day, or remember something for later, anything at all really. It was easy to fall into routine where he knew who would wake up when, who liked coffee and how they liked it. Easy to make sure Tamaki got up in time to get to school with his brother. Easy to make sure Riku was okay when Iori wasn’t around to check instead. Easy to let Tamaki sleep on his shoulder in the car when Sogo was away. Easy to watch Kokana with Nagi. Easy to drink with Yamato. It was all too easy to let the pieces fall into place. When his mom tells him about Iori’s idea for them to come eat dinner at the dorms with them it’s easy to share a knowing glance with her and know why Iori suggested it. There’s nothing he can say that will stop her from bringing baby pictures just in case someone asks. There’s nothing he can do to stop Nagi from asking about them because he definitely will. 

For years people liked to tell him he wasn’t good at dancing or singing. Even now some people still say that. When he starts to doubt himself it’s no longer just Iori and his parents who say otherwise. The rest of Idolish7 doesn’t hesitate to tell him just how great an idol he is. 

There is one thing he’ll never doubt his ability of though, he’s great at taking care of his family. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.  
Family was special. Tamaki really doesn’t remember his family. Well there are parts he would rather forget, but it’s not like he ever had a lot to remember. The charm his mom got him sits on his bedside table. He used to carry it everywhere. It was the only thing linking him to his only remaining family. Even if he never knew where Aya was, she was always closer when he had his lucky charm. He used to carry it everywhere because he didn’t want it to get stolen. Then when the president recruited him, he tucked it in his school bag. 

It was terrifying when he lost it. When he had rushed to grab their stuff to get from one job to another as Sou-chan thanked people. He had taken something else out of the bag earlier which knocked the charm out onto the floor. He didn’t know where it went. He stood outside the studio searching the bag, dumping it all on the ground because how could it just be gone! Sou-chan grabbed it for him though, so it was okay. But not knowing where it was for even a minute, that scared him. That was all he had left of her. He couldn’t lose that too. 

So he stuck it on his bedside table and kept it there. He didn’t keep anything else on there. Sure maybe his water bottle or a king pudding, but the charm was the only thing that he never moved the next morning. 

Sometime later Sou-chan had been nagging him to clean his room on one of their rare off days. That was when he noticed it. The bedside table that only held his most important things, had a lot more on it than just the charm. There was the special edition king pudding plush from a cross event with Usamimi Friends he went to with Iorin. The photo album Mikki and Nagiichi put together from all the photos manager had taken over time. The pressed flower crowns him and Rikkun made that one really rainy week where it was bad for Rikkun to be outside long. The various knicknacks Sou-chan picked out from all the places they went together as Mezzo”. The fancy looking watch Yama bought him that he doesn’t wear because he doesn’t want it to break. All these important things he’s suddenly collected. 

It’s not a family like all those books he read as a kid talked about. But someone wakes him up every morning in time for breakfast and then makes sure he actually gets out of bed to head to school with Iorin. Someone alway says welcome home when he comes back at the end of the day. They always eat dinner together when they can. Manager drives them when she can in that big van and no one says anything when he falls asleep on their shoulders. It’s not like he thought it would be. But nothing in life has ever been like he thought it would be. So maybe, maybe it’s okay to call them his family too. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.  
He doesn’t belong in his family. Sogo has been sure of that for a long time. He’s always had his doubts but after his uncle’s funeral, well it had been pretty obvious. His father will never get why he dropped out of college to pursue music. His aunts and uncles will never understand why he doesn’t care about the life he could’ve had. It was miserable. Trying to live like they wanted him to had been slowly killing him. Music was all he had back then. But now, now is different. 

Tamaki didn’t understand the problems between him and his family. Sogo doubted he ever would truly understand them. This was something his partner didn’t have, a family, it would be hard to watch someone else have one and throw it away. They had argued over it more than once. The most recent time being worse than usual. Some distant relative saw him with Tamaki on the street and made some comment about being a bratty kid who threw everything away. He ignored them and kept walking. They managed to make it a whole block before Tamaki stopped him and started yelling. Tamaki didn’t understand the problems between him and his family, but that didn’t mean he didn’t get mad everytime his family did something like that. 

 

Having Iori’s and Mitsuki’s parents over for dinner was strange. It had taken him longer than he would’ve liked to admit to get used to their large group dinners in the beginning. But it wasn’t awkward or strange like he thought it would be. The Izumis were a very close family and it was obvious that the elder Izumis were very happy their sons had such a nice group of friends. Though when he went to bed that night, there was only one thing repeating over and over again in his mind. The conversation he had with Yamato, Mitsuki, and the latter’s father had been nice. Yet that one comment Iori and Mitsuki’s dad made was something he couldn’t get out of his head, I’m glad my kids have a family away from home.

At the time Mitsuki had gotten embarrassed and steered the conversation in another direction but Sogo had just sat there in shock. A family away from home? They were all very good friends but a family? He tried to think what he knew about a family, but when he thought about the Izumis it hit him, that maybe he didn’t know what a real family was like. 

He had gotten most everything he wanted as a child is what his parents would tell him, but there was always things he couldn’t have. He only got piano lessons because his mother wanted him to be better than her friend’s kid. His father only got him the best schools because he wanted a successor to his company. His relatives only got him the nicest clothes you could force a child to wear. There was no laughter, bright smiles, and closeness. Only tight lipped smiles, cold words, and loneliness. Maybe Idolish7 was more of a family than he had before.

 

His confirmation comes maybe a month later. They’re out doing a photo shoot at a studio somewhere. The only warning he gets about it is watching spotting his aunt across the room seconds before she spots him. There’s no time to leave, no time to hide, and no way to defend himself against whatever she’s about to do. She marches right up to him and instantly he knows this isn’t going to go well. 

“You have a lot of nerve coming here after all the trouble you’ve caused for our family.” she hisses at him, “What do you expect coming here after your father has all but revoked your name?”

He doesn’t want to cause a scene. Every other staff member has been very kind and the shoot has been going very well. He doesn’t want to be the one to ruin it. He doesn’t want to cause trouble for the others. Yet his aunt is just standing here right in front of him glaring, waiting for an answer he doesn’t have. It’s his father’s elder sister. One who used to lecture him on the importance of family. 

“Ah Sogo-san you’re up next if you could come standby!” Tsumugi, ever cheerful, walked over looking down at her tablet, too immersed in keeping things on schedule to read the situation in front of her.

“Of course manager,” he looked his aunt in the eye with as about as much faked politeness he could muster, “if you’ll excuse me I have a job to do.” 

His aunt grabs his wrist before he can walk away, she hisses at him with anger that hasn’t scared him since he was a child, “You’ll never be anything without your family.”

“Excuse me mademoiselle, but his family is right here and would appreciate it if you could let us work in peace.” A hand as warm as the voice that speaks from behind him rests on his shoulder. Nagi, ever friendly to all ladies smiles at his aunt but Sogo can tell that the smile is fake. His aunt stares at them offended by the notion family can exist without blood, something he had forgotten to consider before. 

Because Nagi is right, his family is right here with him. He just never took notice of it before. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6.  
He doesn’t know what to think when he finally visits Japan. It’s very beautiful just like his mother always said it was. But even though he would love to sight see, he is here first and foremost on a mission. Haruki entrusted him with these songs and he would deliver them to Takanashi-san if it cost him his life. What Nagi doesn’t expect is Takanashi-san to turn around and scout him to be in an idol group. But Haruki is missing, his family is at odds with his elder brother in control, and all he has left are these songs. He doesn’t have anything else to lose so he agrees. 

It’s fun. He doesn’t remember the last time he had this much fun. Time passes very quickly as Idolish7 comes together. They eat dinner as a group, they’ll play games and make things together. They even watch anime with him and don’t complain when he talks about magical kokona for hours on end. They’re his very dear friends who he loves very much. 

Being an idol is amazing. Being an idol who gets to be in a group with his most treasured friends is something he loves more than he loves kokona. It’s not always easy, for any of them. There are hardships and challenges he never imagined they would face. Nothing in any idol anime compares to some of the challenges they have to face as idols. Not that he really expected it to. He’s always known things are different from how they first seem. 

When Iori cries because he failed at MusFes. When Sogo passes out from overwork. When Riku faints after the concert in the rain. When Tamaki punches his dad on live TV. When Mitsuki doubts his abilities. When Yamato suddenly finds a resolve he didn’t show before. He gets it, life is hard, complicated, and unfair.

And every time they struggle, every time they fall, he is right there to pick them back up again. He wants to be there for them, be there so they don’t have to go through what he did when no one is there and you just have to pick yourself back up over and over again. Sometimes he thinks there are things he should be doing to help them more, but that means revealing the life he left behind in Northmare and its selfish of him, but he doesn’t want that life back. He just wants this life. He just wants to be Nagi Ryouka who is a part of Idolish7. 

But he knows that won’t last forever. So for right now, while he can, he wants to stay here with his new family. For however long it lasts, he wants to keep protecting and supporting them, because they are his dearest friends.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.  
Aside from the major decrease in hospital visits in his life now, Idolish7 is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to him. Everyone’s super nice and kind. Though he feels bad about not telling them about his illness, he doesn’t want to worry them or lose any of this. Idolish7 is the reason Riku is happy for the first time since Tenn left. Home hasn’t felt like home since Tenn left. Being able to move into the dorms and out of the house where he still thinks he might find his brother just around the corner is a blessing. Things are better here, even if it doesn’t stay that way for long. 

Iori finds out about his illness very quickly. That’s one of the first things he learns about one of his new friends, Iori is extremely perceptive when he’s paying attention. Then when he learns Sogo also left his family for his dreams, he doesn’t know what to think. So he doesn’t think about that and tries to think of other things which is harder when manager bans them from singing and dancing. But he learns about Nagi’s love for anime, about Mitsuki’s amazing cooking skills, and so much more. 

Telling them about Tenn-nii is easy. He knows he’s bad at hiding it so he doesn’t try to. But telling them about his illness isn’t easy and he’s had practice hiding that his whole life. So when the trains are delayed from the storm and they go out on stage, he doesn’t say anything. He has no choice but to tell them then when he’s lying in the hospital. But instead of getting mad, they’re just worried. He really doesn’t deserve them.

If they were nice and kind before, now they’re even more so caring. They all know how to work his inhaler, that he likes honey and milk before bed, and when the weather is bad for him. At first he had been irritated at them always hovering over him because he could still do things, but then it was only their worry for him, and he didn’t deserve it. They’ve all faced their hardships though, it shows more so than the others think it does. 

Being stuck in the hospital a lot as a kid left him only books and people watching, he knows how to read people and he knows his new friends all have their own burdens to carry on top of Idolish7. Which is why he has to do the very best he can as their center to make it any easier at all, even just a little. 

There’s a lot of rough patches. Sogo’s hospitalization, their stolen debut song, and Tenn-nii, no Trigger is always just ahead of them. When they step out on stage to sing Natsu Shiyouze as a Trigger song and not as their own song it’s not easy. Not because the crowd is booing them and chanting for Trigger, it’s not easy because he knows how much it must hurt his brother and the rest of Trigger to watch this. To know there’s somewhere you’re supposed to be, to know there’s something you need to, want to do for someone else but can’t. He knows it hurts. It hurts when all you can do is watch something slip right through the cracks between your fingers no matter how tight you want to hold on.

When they perform Memories Melodies at black or white he’s never felt happier. Being able to stand on stage with them is a feeling he’ll never stop chasing. And afterwards when Tenn-nii says he’ll finally tell him why he left home, his whole world doesn’t change like he thought it would. He thought finally learning would fix everything, but he sees how happy his brother is with Trigger. Nanase Tenn is never going to come back. He’s always known that somewhere deep down. He just never wanted to admit it. 

He doesn't feel happy like he thought he would, there’s no rush of relief or surge of emotion at the news or realization. Maybe he had already moved on more than he thought. It’s easy to forget though, when they accept their award. When they stand together proud as Idolish7 and everyone is cheering for them. When their manager drives them all back to the dorms and everyone shares their favorite performances from other groups. When Banri and the president are waiting with a celebration party at the dorms when they get back. It’s so easy to just forget all those emotions from his brother leaving when he’s surrounded by such warmth and happiness from the rest of Idolish7. It’s easy, to forget what home once was like and build a new one. To make new memories of all the things he never got to do as a kid with his new family. It’s easy to help Mitsuki bake cookies, to just sit in silence and read while Iori helps Tamaki with homework, to play videogames with Tamaki and Nagi, to gather around the TV and watch Yamato’s newest drama as a group. It’s easier than breathing to him. He’s just surprised he never noticed it sooner.


End file.
